Weft end cutting devices for shuttleless looms



June 28, 1966 v. M. J. ANCET ET AL 3,258,038

WEF'I' END CUTTING DEVICES FOR SHUTTLELESS LOOMS INVENTORg @mj (refsFiled Dec. 16, 1965 4M4. nM 561 United States Patent 3,258,038 WEFT ENDCUTTlNG DE'VlClES lFUlR SHUTTLELESS LOOMS Victor Marie Joseph Ancet andMarius Fayolle, known as Marcel, Lyon, France, assignors to BrelicInternational lino, Panama, Panama, a corporation of Panama Filed Dec.16, 1963, Ser. No. 330,833 Claims priority, application France, Dec. 21,1962, 43,161, Patent 1,352,200 7 Claims. (Cl. 139-302) This inventionrefers to shuttleless looms of the kind in which the weft thread isinserted into the shed by a transversely reciprocatable weft-insertingmember from a stationary weft supply, the said member catching the cutend of the weft thread on one side of the loom and pulling it throughthe shed.

In these looms the successive wefts of the fabric protrude on at leastone side of the latter and they thus form an unsightly lateral fringe.It is known to fold back these protruding ends into the shed so as torealize a selvedge. When such a selvedge is not desired or when it isobtained by another means, as for instance by auxiliary selvedgeformingthreads, the lateral fringe should be regularly cut at a small distancefrom the edge of the fabric in order to obtain a good appearance. Thecutting operation may be facilitated by means of a suction nozzle whichacts on the ends of the last weft threads in the vicinity of the cuttingmechanism in order that these ends may be correctly disposed withrespect to the said device. But the operation of these suction nozzlesis sometimes unsatisfactory, as for instance in the case of threads ofhighly resilient character, commonly called live threads, which have a.tendency to curl as soon as they are released by the weft-insertingmember and before they pass in front of the nozzle which is of coursesituated somewhat in front of the transverse path of the weft-insertingmemher and of the foremost position of the beating up reed. It maytherefore occur that some of the weft ends be not caught by the cuttingdevice and thus cause defects along the edge of the fabric.

The present invention has for its object to avoid this disadvantage.

In accordance with the present invention a device for cutting thelateral fringe formed along the edge of the fabric by the protrudingends of the successive wefts in shuttleless looms, comprises a cuttingmechanism and a suction nozzle having a rearwardly directed inletopening and a lateral slit of small width extending along the inner sideof the nozzle on the loom, the said nozzle and the said mechanism beingso arranged that in the course of the slow advancing movement of thefabric on the loom the edge thereof, together with the lateral fringe tobe cut, enters the said inlet opening and the said lateral slit and thatthereafter the said edge disengages from the slit while the protrudingends which form the said lateral fringe are still in part engaged intothe said slit, the said cutting mechanism then acting on the portion ofthe fringe comprised between the edge of the fabric and the lateral slitof the nozzle.

In the annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental plan view illustrating a cutting device accordingto the present invention mounted on the right-hand side of a shuttlelessloom.

3,25%,38 Patented June 28, 1965 FIG. 2 is a vertical section thereoftaken along line 11-11 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line III-III in which the cuttingmechanism has not been illustrated.

The loom illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a reed 1 through which arepassed the Warp threads 2, the latter being selectively raised andlowered by an appropriate shed-forming mechanism, not illustrated. Thereed 1 is itself carried by :a beating up slay, also not shown, so as toact on the successive wefts in the conventional manner.

The weft thread 3 is inserted into the shed by a transverselyreciprocated weft-inserting needle 4 from an appropriate stationary weftsupply, not illustrated, which is provided on the left-hand side of theloom. This weftinserting needle passes through the shed from the rightto the left in FIG. 1; it then catches the portion of the weft threadwhich is comprised between the stationary supply and the last weft whichhas been beaten up by the reed 1; this thread portion is out between theneedle and the edge of the fabric; and the needle then returns towardsthe right while pulling the cut end of the thread in order to form thenext weft 3 of the fabric. When the weft-inserting needle is almostdisengaged from the shed, as illustrated in FIG. 1, it liberates theWeft thread 3 the free end of which protrudes somewhat beyond theright-hand side of the fabric. It results therefrom that the successivewefts of the latter tend to form on this side a more or less importantlateral fringe which is generally rather irregular. Each one of the weftends may be folded back into the next shed so as to realize a selvedge.When such is not the case the lateral fringe should be cut at a shortdistance from the edge of the fabric by means of an appropriate cuttingdevice. However, as above indicated, in the case of highly resilient orlive threads, the weft ends have a marked tendency to curl as soon asthey are released by the weft-inserting needle and it often occurs thatthey are not caught by the suction nozzle or other guiding meansassociated with the said cutting device and that they are not thereforesubmitted to the action of the latter.

The cutting device illustrated comprises a suction nozzle 6 which isconnected by a hose or flexible pipe 7 with an appropriate suctionapparatus, not illustrated, such as a centrifugal blower. This nozzle 6has an end opening 6a (FIG. 3) which opens towards the rear of the loom,i.e. towards the beating up reed 1. It is further formed with a lateralslit 6b which extends from the rear opening 6a to a point situated nearthe front end of the nozzle. In order to facilitate the manufacture oftthe nozzle, the latter is first realized with an open lower side whichis thereafter closed by means of a thin metallic bottom plate 6 0secured by means of screws or otherwise, this plate leaving the saidslit 6b along the inner lateral side of the nozzle. As shown in FIG. 3in the vicinity of the transverse weaving line (i.e. of the last weftwhich has received the action of the beating up slay) the lateral sideof the fabric 5 enters the inlet opening 6a and the slit 6b. At itsfront end the nozzle 6 is formed on its inner side with a recessedportion 6d in which the cutting mechanism proper is disposed, asexplained below. The slit 6b is of quite small width in its portioncomprised between the rear inlet opening 6a and the recess 6d, but inthe latter it is substantially wider, as illustrated. It terminatesshort of the front side of the nozzle. The suction hose 7 opens in thenozzle substantially in front of the recessed portion 6d.

It is to be noted that in the example described the loom has no lateraltemplets in such a manner that the fabric contracts in front of the reed1, its edge being thus obliquely directed, as shown.

The suction nozzle 6 thus formed is supported by means of a transversebar 8 on which it is clamped by a collar 9. This supporting bar 8 ismounted in bearings such as 10 and it carries a lateral arm 11 to whichis attached a spring 12 which thus tends to lower the arm 11 and thenozzle 6 itself, the latter being rotatably supported about the axis ofbar 8 which is distant from the plane containing the axis of spindle andthe axis of drum 14.

In the embodiment illustrated the cutting mechanism associated with thenozzle 6 comprises a disc 13 having a thin cutting or crushing rim and acylindrical drum 14. This disc 13 is mounted on a spindle 15 which issecured to the lateral wall of the recessed portion 6d of the suctionnozzle 6, while the drum 14 is keyed on a transverse shaft 16 rotatablysupported by the loom frame. It will be understood that under the actionof the abovementioned spring 12 the disc 13 is applied against the drum14. The shaft 16 may be given a to and fro angular motion in order toobtain a safe cutting of the protruding weft ends in the mannerdescribed in our patent application Serial No. 296,274. 4

The operation of the device described is as follows:

When the loom is in operation, the reed 1 beats up the successive weftswhich have been inserted into the shed by the reciprocatingweft-inserting needle 4 and the fabric advances at each stroke under theaction of the takingup beam, in the conventional manner. As soon as aweft is beaten up, its protruding end is drawn by the intense air draftwhich enters the rear inlet opening 611 of the nozzle 6. Due to theadvanced position of the inlet of the suction hose 7, this air draft issubstantially directed towards the front of the loom and such is alsothe direction which is imparted to the successive protruding ends suchas 17. Owing to the slow advancing movement of the fabric eachprotruding end enters the slit 6b and comes nearer and nearer withrespect to the inlet of the hose 7. The width of the slit being quitesmall, the air draft in which the weft end under consideration issituated is now of low intensity, but it is however sufiicient formaintaining this end under tension, the direction of the latter becomingmore and more transverse with respect to the loom. When the said weftend reaches the recessed portion 6d (or slightly before owing to theobliquity of the fabric edge), the fabric becomes disengaged from theslit, but its lateral fringe is still pulled and retained by the airdraft which enters the nozzle. When the weft end under considerationreaches the cutting mechanism it is cut between the roller 13 and thedrum 14, the cut portion being carried away through the hose 7.

It is to be noted that between the weaving line and the cuttingmechanism all the protruding ends are maintained in the same plane owingto the quite small width of the slit 6b and that they are thereforeregularly fed to this mechanism whatever the latter may be. Since theedge of the fabric enters the said slit at the rear end of the nozzlethe weft ends cannot escape the action of the said nozzle even if theyhave curled after they have been liberated by the weft-inserting needle.

In the embodiment illustrated it has been supposed that the loom had notemplets and no selvedge-forming mechanisms, but the invention may beapplied to looms provided with such devices. The nozzle and the cuttingmechanism associated therewith are then disposed somewhat more in frontof the weaving line so as to leave the space required for the mountingof these devices. The operation remains substantially unchanged.

We claim:

1. In a shuttleless loom having warp threads which form successivesheds, a reciprocated weft-inserting member which inserts a weft intoeach of said successive sheds and a beating up reed which beats saidwefts to form with said warp threads a fabric which advances on saidloom, a cutting device to cut the lateral fringe formed by theprotruding ends of said successive wefts along one edge of said fabric,said device comprising a suction nozzle on said loom having a rearwardlydirected inlet opening and a narrow lateral slit extending from saidinlet opening along the lateral side of said nozzle which is inwardlydisposed with respect to said loom, said nozzle being positioned so thatin the course of the advancing movement of said fabric thereon said oneedge of said fabric enters said inlet opening and said lateral slittogether with said lateral fringe, and that said one edge thereafterleaves said slit while said lateral fringe is still in part engagedtherein so as to leave a portion of said fringe exposed between said oneedge and said slit; and a thread cutting mechanism on said nozzlepositioned so as to out said fringe in said exposed portion thereofcomprised between said one edge and said slit.

2. In a cutting device as claimed in claim 1, said slit being wider inthe portion thereof situated in front of said cutting mechanism.

3. In a cutting device as claimed in claim 1, said cutting mechanismcomprising a disc having a thin rim to sever the successive weft endswhich form said fringe; a spindle carried by said lateral side of saidnozzle to rotatably support said disc; a drum supporting said lateralfringe and cooperating with said disc; and means to press said discagainst said drum.

4. In a cutting device as claimed in claim 1, said lateral side of saidnozzle which comprises said slit being formed with a recessed portion inthe vicinity of the front end of said nozzle, and said cutting mechanismpositioned at least in part in said recessed portion.

5. In a shuttleless loom having warp threads which form successivesheds, a reciprocated weft-inserting member which inserts a weft intoeach of said successive sheds and a beating up reed which beats saidwefts to form with said warp threads a fabric which advances on saidloom, a cutting device to cut the lateral fringe formed by theprotruding ends of said successive wefts along one edge of said fabric,said device comprising a suction nozzle on said loom having a rearwardlydirected inlet opening and a narrow lateral slit extending from saidinlet opening along the lateral side of said nozzle which is inwardlydisposed with respect to said loom, said nozzle being positioned so thatin the course of the advancing movement of said fabric thereon, said oneedge of said fabric enters said inlet opening and said lateral slittogether with said lateral fringe, and that said one edge thereafterleaves said slit during the time that said lateral fringe is still 11'!part engaged therein so as to leave a portion of said fringe exposedbetween said one edge and said slit in the v cinity of the front end ofsaid nozzle; a spindle carried by said lateral side of said nozzle abovesaid slit in the vicinity of the front end of said nozzle, said spindlebeing directed transversely and inwardly with respect to said loom; adisc rotatably supported by said spindle, said disc having a thin rim tosever the successive weft ends which form said lateral fringe; a drumrotatably supported on said loom with its axis transversely disposedthereon, at such a position to support said lateral fringe during thecourse of the advancing movement of said fabric to be cut by said disc;means to rotatably support said nozzle about an axis distant from theplane containing the axis of said spindle and the axis of said drum; andmeans actmg on said nozzle to maintain said disc resiliently pressedagainst said drum.

6. In a cutting device as claimed in claim 5, said lateral side of saidnozzle having a recessed portion in the vicinity of the front end ofsaid nozzle, and said spindle and said disc being disposed in saidrecessed portion.

7. In a cutting device as claimed in claim 5, said slit being Wider infront of said disc.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 4/1932 Dickieet a1 139-491 10/ 1932 Richardson 26-104 5/1933 Schulz 28-1.2 5/ 1933Valentine 28-1.2 7/1934 P001 139 -302 10 5/1937 Pool 139302 Bernstein26-10.4

Vollenweider 26-10.4 Ancet et a1 139-291 Remington 2610.4 Reyes 139265 XFOREIGN PATENTS France.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

J. KEECHI, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A SHUTTLESS LOOM HAVING WARP THREADS WHICH FORM SUCCESSIVE SHEDS,A RECIPROCATED WEFT-INSERTING MEMBER WHICH INSERTS A WEFT INTO EACH OFSAID SUCCESSIVE SHEDS AND A BEATING UP REED WHICH BEATS SAID WEFTS TOFORM WITH SAID WARP THREADS A FABRIC WHICH ADVANCES ON SAID LOOM, ACUTTING DEVICE TO CUT THE LATERAL FRINGE FORMED BY THE PROTRUDING ENDSOF SAID SUCCESSIVE WEFTS ALONG ONE EDGE OF SAID FABRIC, SAID DEVICECOMPRISING A SUCTION NOZZLE ON SAID LOOM HAVING A REARWARDLY DIRECTEDINLET OPENING AND A NARROW LATERALS SLIT EXTENDING FROM SAID INLETOPENING ALONG THE LATERAL SIDE OF SAID NOZZLE WHICH IS INWARDLY DISPOSEDWITH RESPECT TO SAID LOOM, SAID NOZZLE BEING POSITIONED SO THAT IN THECOURSE OF THE ADVANCING MOVEMENT OF SAID FABRIC THEREON SAID ONE EDGE OFSAID FABRIC ENTERS SAID INLET OPENING AND SAID LATERAL SLIT TOGETHERWITH SAID LATERAL FRINGE, AND THAT SAID ONE EDGE THEREAFTER LEAVES SAIDSLIT WHILE SAID LATERAL FRINGE IS STILL IN PART ENGAGED THERE IN SO ASTO LEAVE A PORTION OF SAID FRINGE EXPOSED BETWEEN SAID ONE EDGE AND SAIDSLIT; AND A THREAD CUTTING MECHANISM ON SAID NOZZLE POSITIONED SO AS TOCUT SAID FRINGE IN SAID EXPOSED PORTION THEREOF COMPRISED BETWEEN SAIDONE EDGE AND SAID SLIT.